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Yard Sale
Yard Sale is a 1995 horror anthology film, directed by Paul Ward. The film debuted on television in the US and was later sold to Lumiere International for home media and worldwide distribution. Plot The framework of the film revolves around a man, Mr. Richter (Sam Anderson) selling a number of bizarre items. Three buyers acquire different items and each story centers on the effect these items have on them. The Box Donald Castner (Elliot Gould) is a hard-pressed clerk at the headquarters of an iron processing ran by his unsympathetic cheapskate brother Dan (Jerry Stiller). Donald buys a box and is warned not to open it. Donald puts the box in his cubicle as a decorative piece. Dan finds the box and is curious to the contents inside. Heading Richter's warning, Donald refuses to let Dan open the box. Donald is forced to work the night shift and Dan uses the opportunity to snatch the box. Upon getting it, he finds little more than a medallion. After running a search, Dan learns the medallion is valued at twenty million dollars. He informs Donald of this but he refuses to give it up, already mad Dan stole it. Dan forces Donald to work the night shift and locks him in a metal box, which he fills with molten aluminum. A year after, Dan has cashed the medallion and has kept the proceeds to himself. He is heavily criticized by his employees for not putting the money toward improving the conditions of the building and is faced with questions regarding the whereabouts of Donald. At night, Dan is caught in a blackout. While searching for a way out, he finds Donald, him having broken out of his coffin and retrieving his medallion. Dan is cornered, strangled with the medallion and tossed into a drum of molten iron. Coin Collection A miserly coin collector, Walter Rollins (Ed Lauter), acquired Richter's coin collection, and is encouraged to send each coin to different individuals. As Rollins looks over the coins, also putting one in his pocket, he notices peculiar inscriptions which depict grizzly deaths. At his job, he accidentally loses one of the coins and his clerk (Joseph Bova) gets it, later dying of a heart attack. Boyle sees the coin has the clerk's face on it. Rollins forces another coin on a beggar and sees he has gone through a similar fate, this time he had caught on fire somehow. Rollins decides to use the remaining coins to his advantage, giving coins to two cops who pull him over for speeding, his henpecking wife and someone he owed money to. After clearing all of his coins, he realizes too late that he forgot about one coin he had in his pocket, one that turns him into stone. The coin bears the numerals MMCDLXVI (2466). Belt Otis (August Schallenberg) is a misanthropic man who takes his frustrations out on his family. He acquires a belt that belonged to a plantation owner. At dinner, Otis catches his son Tyler (Will Estes) out past curfew with his friend Bex (Melody Kay). Otis opts to go for a corporal punishment and beats his son with the belt. Overtime he begins using the belt to beat his wife Caroll (Susan Dey), as well as their youngest child, the latter of which gets killed. Otis beats Caroll into silence, but Tyler catches what happened and plans to go to the police with Bex. Both congregate to get help, but Otis captures and beats them, knocking Bex unconscious and locking her and Tyler in the basement. Caroll attempts to escape, but Otis catches her and becomes more violent. He winds up beating her and accidentally causing a fire by knocking a lit candle into the curtains. In her struggle, Caroll gets the belt and strangles Otis. Meanwhile, Tyler manages to get Bex out of the basement as the police arrive. Otis attempts to find a way out but finds his hands tied to a post. Caroll arrives and begins whipping Otis, telling him to take accountability for what he has done, something he refuses. It goes back to their charred bodies as the police (J.T. Walsh and Tim Choate) recover and identify them. Book Torrence (E.G. Marshall) is a mean-spirited disciplinarian who's hired to rehabilitate a pair of punks, Julie and Jade (Olivia Hack and Allison Mack respectively.) He buys a book which he intends to use for documentary purposes. Torrence discovers a new hangout in the outskirts of town; a giant dirt clearing in the woods, linking it to various disappearances that've occurred the past few days. He is determined to keep Julie and Jade from suffering the same fate. After catching them sneaking out, and ignorant of their intentions, he viciously berates them. They yell at him before departing, and Torrence is determined to get back at them. The next day, Torrence performs a prank on Jade, making her strip naked after planting a fake substance on her (claiming it to be the reason the kids disappeared.) After relentless teasing from some peers present, Jade runs home in tears. Julie scolds Torrence over what he did but he's complicit and claims that he'll do the same to Julie if she doesn't listen to him. Julie goes to Jade to comfort her and is horrified to find that she has hung herself. The next morning, Torrence is pushed into a frenzy after Julie reveals what happened to Jade those Torrence is in business with; he loses his job (coupled with numerous other minor offenses) and his wife Lee (Jane Connell) leaves him. He also witnesses those that taunted Jade getting reprimanded and ostracized. A drunk Torrence visits the clearing and reminiscences about previous encounters, bemoaning about how those that've listened are now gone while those that didn't are still around. His attention is drawn to a necklace, one that was worn by one of his former colleagues. As he looks around he sees more items linked to other people he encountered. Realizing that everyone he got through to has disappeared in the clearing, he begins to panic before going into denial. Suddenly, various corpses emerge from the dirt, chastising him for going into the lot. Torrence staggers as the corpses surround and proceed to attack him while criticizing him for his neuroticism. Torrence awakens, at the entrance of the clearing. Believing it to just be a dream he reinforces his behavior, only to get engulfed in a tidal wave of dirt. At night, Julie is walking alone and passes the hangout, harmonzing and caught off guard by a mysterious voice that joins in. She discovers an apparition in the middle of the hangout, donning Jade's clothes, and approaches it. Jade gives Julie Torrence's book and her jacket before transitioning to the afterlife. Julie proceeds to write Torrence's name on the last page before writing on the cover "Victims of Neuroticism." Cleaver Martha (Gaylen Ross) is a long suffering wife who learns of a tryst had between a neighbor and her husband Harold (Tom Noonan). Martha buys a cleaver. Harold returns home from work. While heading to the front door he is greeted by his neighbor Linda (Melinda Dillon). She invites him over but he declines, knowing his wife is due back at any point. Harold goes into the living room to relax, unaware that Martha has made it home before him. When questioned on what happened whilst he was alone, Harold doesn't go into specifics, arousing suspicion. At dinner time, Martha had continued to try and get more information out of him, leading to a heated argument and Harold threatening to leave. Martha angrily lacerates Harold with the cleaver. Linda comes over, hearing the screams and both get into an argument. Linda is ultimately killed, stripped and thrown into the basement, doing the same to Harold soon after. At night, Martha is visited by a seemingly deranged man. Believing it to be a revenant or a cop, she locks every entry and the man proceeds to try and break his way in, succeeding through an unchecked window. To prevent herself from getting caught, she cuts the power and seeks an exit through the back. Martha makes it to the kitchen and grabs her cleaver, proceeding to near-fatally stab the man. She is shocked to learn that he was actually one of her friends with a package in tow. Opening it, she sees it's a birthday gift from Harold; he and Linda contributed to get it. Martha goes to her slain husband and sobs uncontrollably on his lifeless corpse. Conclusion The officers from "Belt" are driving to answer a call regarding the murder in "Cleaver". They pass by Richter's house, now decrepit and abandoned, only to find Richter on the side of the road. He offers each of them a box of bullets, but only one of the officers takes a box. As they drive off, we get a glimpse of the statue of Rollins. Production The film had been shot in and throughout New England (namely in New Hampshire.) Reception The film currently sits at 55% on Rotten Tomatoes.